Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been formally sworn in as Greece’s Prime Minister after easily winning a second term with a record margin over the left-wing opposition. The New Democracy party, led by Mitsotakis, secured 40.55% of the vote, more than twice the main opposition Syriza party’s 17.84%. This election marks the largest margin of victory in a Greek election in half a century.
In his televised meeting with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Mitsotakis expressed his commitment to implementing major reforms over the next four years and stated that his party has a strong mandate to do so. The New Democracy party won in 58 of the country’s 59 electoral regions, capturing traditional socialist and left-wing strongholds, including some for the first time.
The election also saw the entry of new far-right parties, which raises the number of political groups represented in parliament from five to eight. Mitsotakis expressed confidence in Greece’s democracy, stating that it is “mature enough to handle whatever temporary turbulence (ensues)”. The centre-left Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or PASOK, and the Stalinist-rooted Communist Party also made significant gains.
Mitsotakis campaigned on a platform of securing economic growth and political stability, cutting taxes and boosting incomes as Greece gradually recovers from a nearly decade-long financial crisis. He faces several challenges, including maintaining the economic rebound amid a cost-of-living crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and improving relations with neighbouring Turkey which nosedived in 2020.
Conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Via Kyriakos Mitsotakis/Twitter)
Despite scandals late in his first term, including revelations of wiretapping and a deadly train crash, voters returned to power a prime minister who delivered economic growth and lowered unemployment. Mitsotakis’ party also pursued a tough border policy, greatly reducing the flow of people smuggling boats, but has been accused of illegally deporting migrants back to Turkey, which it has denied.
The election result is a significant blow to the left-wing opposition, led by Alexis Tsipras, who was prime minister from 2015 to 2019. Despite the election result, he has shown no inclination to resign as party leader and there have been no open calls from within his party for him to do so.
The far-right parties that crossed the 3% support threshold required to enter parliament oppose immigration, although the issue did not receive much attention in pre-election campaigning. The election outcome sets the stage for a stable government in Greece, with Mitsotakis’ party having a comfortable majority of 158 seats in the 300-member parliament.
